Big East This Weekend: Top 3 Games to Bet
Since dropping its first conference game of the season, defending national champion UConn has won seven consecutive games to take over sole possession of first place in the Big East standings. That is not too much of a surprise to those who make college basketball predictions.
All three Big East ranked teams will be playing at home this weekend so the pecking order might not change by the end of the weekend. One of the best storylines could take place in Providence when longtime Friars head coach Ed Cooley brings his Georgetown team to Providence.
UConn has the longest active winning streak in the Big East while DePaul has dropped seven games in a row.
UConn received 68 first-place votes to remain atop both the national polls. Marquette moved up three spots to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and to No. 15 in the USA Today coaches poll.
When looking at the college basketball futures odds, UConn is second with +1000 odds of winning the NCAAM championship. Marquette’s odds to win March Madness have moved from +1600 to +2200 in the last two weeks. Creighton is the next closest Big East team with +2500 odds to win it all.
Seton Hall (13-7 SU, 9-11 ATS) vs Marquette (12-6 SU, 9-9-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 27, 1 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: FS1
Seton Hall has dropped two games in a row to fall out of first place in the Big East standings and now the Pirates head to Milwaukee to face a Marquette team on a three-game winning streak.
Keep an eye out for reports about Seton Hall leading scorer Kadary Richmond, who did not play in a four-point home loss to Providence. Al-AmirDawes led the Pirates with 26 points. It was his fifth 20-point effort in the last six games.
Seton Hall limited to 4 of last 21 FGAs
Al-Amir Dawes 26 pts, scored 18 of team’s 32 in 2nd half.
PC zero FG’s over last 5:27 but make 7-of-8 FT’s— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) January 25, 2024
David Joplin has 34 points and nine 3-pointers in the last two games to take some of the pressure off Marquette’s Big Three of Tyler Kolek, Kam Jones and Oso Ighodaro.
Seton Hall shot 53% from the field in a 78-75 win over Marquette on Jan. 6. That game was in New Jersey. It could be a different deal with the Golden Eagles playing at home.
Marquette had won the previous four games against Seton Hall and covered in the last five. Five of the last seven games between the teams went over the total.
Marquette is tied for the Big East lead with a 6-4 record against the spread at home. Seton Hall has covered in two of its five road games.
Villanova (11-8 SU, 10-9 ATS) vs Butler (13-7, 9-10 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m. ET
- Live Stream: FS1
Villanova did not respond well after its near-upset of No. 1 UConn as the Wildcats lost on the road to St. John’s and by 20 points to Seton Hall to extend their losing streak to three games.
Justin Moore had 15 points in the one-point loss to UConn. However, that was during a stretch when Moore had four, three, two, eight and four points in games and shot 7-of-31 in those contests. More will be needed from him for Villanova to make noise in the Big East.
Nine of Butler‘s 13 wins have come at home, with both home losses coming in conference play. Jahmyl Telfort is averaging 14.8 points on 45.5% shooting at home compared to 11 points on 34% shooting on the road for Butler.
The home team has won eight of the last nine meetings between Villanova and Butler. The Wildcats have won eight home games in a row against Butler and covered against the college basketball spread in each of those contests.
Butler is 2-4 ATS on the road this season after going 5-6-1 against the spread on the road a season ago. The Bulldogs top the Big East with 11 of their games going over the Las Vegas odds total.
Xavier (10-9 SU, 12-7 ATS) vs UConn (17-1 SU, 11-8 ATS)
- Date/Time: Sunday, Jan. 28, noon ET
- Live Stream: FS1
The last time Xavier played at UConn, the Musketeers returned home with a three-point win as a six-point underdog.
UConn went on the road and returned the favor in the first meeting between the teams this season. The 80-75 win by the Huskies was the third in a row between the teams to land over the total.
The Huskies have opened up a 1½-game lead over Creighton and Seton Hall in the Big East standings and are the only Big East team still undefeated at home.
UConn leading scorer Cam Spencer is shooting 55% from the field at home and 54% on 3-pointers. Sophomore Alex Karaban is connecting on 58% of his shots at home as well.
Connecticut native Desmond Claude has seen his scoring average jump from 4.7 points as a freshman to 16.2 as a sophomore for Xavier. He had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in the first game against UConn this season. Claude finished with six points in 20 minutes when the Musketeers won at UConn last season.
This is a matchup of the teams that are first and third in the Big East against the college basketball spread.
Questions Of The Day
Which Big East team has had the most games go over the total?
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, 38 UConn games have landed over the total. That is seven more than any other Big East team.
Who has the best odds of winning March Madness among Big East teams?
Defending national champion UConn has +1000 odds of winning the national title and that is second only to Purdue’s +900 odds.
